


conclave preparations

by greywardenblue



Category: October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire
Genre: Book 10: Once Broken Faith, Fictober 2019, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greywardenblue/pseuds/greywardenblue
Summary: The sea witch does not eat children. Really.
Kudos: 22





	conclave preparations

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt in this work:  
> "There is a certain taste to it."

In her hands, she held the dress that flowed like the tide, and she stared at it like she was staring at the ocean. She’d had a sick feeling in her stomach since she got out of bed, and although she couldn’t place the origin, she knew that was never a good sign. The Mother of the Roane didn’t have the luxury to ignore her instincts when they were trying to tell her this was going to end badly.

She breathed in deeply as she stepped into the dress and moved it until it flowed around her, breaking into white foam at the bottom. She wouldn’t be the prettiest in the room, but she didn’t have to be. None of them had to be, really, the Firstborn children of the Three - but unlike some of her sisters, she never tried. At least not in a very long time.

She was almost ready to go when someone knocked on her door. She glanced down at her dress and sighed, trying to decide whether it was worth spinning an illusion to make it look like she was wearing her regular clothes.

To hell with it. Whoever was bothering her at this hour could deal with the dress.

She tore the door open and snarled, “What?”

The girl on her doorstep was short, and she didn’t look more than fourteen. She trembled from the cold, and she seemed to have come alone, clutching a bus ticket in her hand.

“You’re the Luidaeg,” she said in confusion.

She smiled with her sharp teeth showing. “Yes, I am.”

“My mom used to say you eat children,” the girl said.

Annie nodded enthusiastically. “There is a certain taste to it,” she said. “Now. Tell me how the hell you found me, and then get the hell off my doorstep, kid. I’m kind of in a hurry here.”

The girl straightened her back and met her eyes with sudden confidence. “But you didn’t eat my siblings,” she said. “You didn’t eat the other kids. You helped us come home, and then you helped Auntie Birdie too. You are the third Firstborn I have seen. You were all scary, but you are the least scary of the three, because the others were trying to hurt me, but you helped. I know you could hurt me, but I don’t think you want to.”

Annie stared. That’s why the girl was so familiar. But what did she mean about three Firstborns?

“What do you want?” she asked.

The girl looked uncertain again. “My name is Karen Brown. My parents are Stacy and Mitch Brown, and my–”

“I know who you are,” Annie said. “Tell me why you’re here.”

“I didn’t want to come,” she said. “I didn’t want to, but she said I’d never sleep peacefully again. She said she would make me scream and scream and she would hurt Auntie Birdie and my siblings, and Jessica is already so scared, and I can’t–”

Annie could feel her blood flowing out of her face, her life almost flowing out of her body, like the tide, like the waves. She raised a hand. “Who are you talking about?” she said, harsher than she meant to.

Karen swallowed, and she whispered the name Annie never wanted to hear again in her life. But when was the last time she got what she wanted?

She let out a deep sigh and stepped out of the way. “Come in,” she said with all the gentleness she could muster. “If you’re going to come with me, you’ll need a dress. Do your parents know you came?”

The girl shook her head.

“O-fucking-course. Why would they.” Annie brushed her hair out of her face. “Fine. I’m going to find you a dress to wear, and then I’m going to call your parents and tell them not to expect you home for a couple of days.” Suddenly she turned around, grabbing Karen’s hand, who yelped, more in surprise than in fear. She hoped. “I cannot lie to you,” she said. “So I’m not going to tell you everything is going to be alright or that she’s never going to get you, because that is not a promise I’m ready to make. But I will tell you this: as long as you are with me, you are the safest you can be. Do you understand?“

Karen nodded. “Will Auntie Birdie be there?” she asked.

Annie sighed. “Yes. October will be there too, and I imagine she’ll make you the same promise. Now come on. We really need to find you a dress.”


End file.
